Earnhardt spun out Truex - who was driving a car Earnhardt owned - 48 laps into the 120-lap race.

The accident happened as the pair moved up through the field, along with their Nextel Cup teammate Michael Waltrip, after laying back early on to stay out of trouble.

"We was getting a little bored," Earnhardt said. "Somebody knocked Martin, sent him up sideways in front of me. He was wrecking anyways, I just helped him on out."

The crash was almost inevitable. Several other drivers followed Earnhardt, Truex and Waltrip as they fell back in the field early in the race, a testament to how dominant they've been at Daytona the last few years.

The trio slowly pulled away from the second pack, drafting off each other. Earnhardt said they were running half-a-second faster than the leaders at one point, and they eventually caught up to the lead pack.

And that's when the accident happened.

"We were all on the bottom, and everybody was on real old tires," Truex said. "We got jammed up."

Truex recovered from the spin and rallied. He eventually finished fourth, right behind Earnhardt. Waltrip finished seventh.

New truck feud?

Jimmy Spencer needed just one race to find an adversary in his first season in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Spencer finished second to defending series champion Bobby Hamilton in Friday's Florida Dodge Dealers 250. The race finished under caution, and Spencer and Hamilton were next to each other when the caution light came on, freezing the field.

Spencer was ruled the unofficial winner, and during a television interview in Victory Lane, he said he didn't appreciate what he deemed as an attempt by Hamilton to spin him out on the final lap.

NASCAR officials reviewed the videotape in the meantime and declared Hamilton the winner. A peeved Spencer left the track without talking to the media.

Hamilton defended his actions in the post-race press conference. He said he was about to pass Spencer on the inside before Spencer moved down to block him. Hamilton said he slowed down to keep from spinning Spencer.

"I had a clean run on him ... I don't know what the problem is," Hamilton said. "But I've seen Jimmy Spencer drive for years, and that was mild."

Spencer has a reputation as a volatile driver. One of favorite inside jokes around the NASCAR garages is "Jimmy Spencer never forgets." He punched Kurt Busch in the face following a Winston Cup race two years ago.

Spencer's never had a run-in with Hamilton, though, at least from what Hamilton remembered.

"There's no bad blood between Jimmy and me, and I'm going to say there probably isn't any now," Hamilton said. "You get lost in the moment. You really don't realize what happens until you go back and watch the film. But, as far as I care, I don't have one ounce of a problem with Jimmy. I think he's a great race car driver, and I look forward to racing with him."

Martin's rebuilt car

Mark Martin participated in Nextel Cup practice Saturday morning for the first time since getting caught up in a multi-car wreck during Thursday's Gatorade Duels at Daytona.

Martin's crew rebuilt his No. 6 Ford Thursday night and Friday, replacing almost everything but the steering wheel. He turned the 11th-fastest lap in the Happy Hour session.

"We missed a day of tuning on our car, but it's a good-enough car," Martin said.

Martin was one of four drivers whose car was all but destroyed in Thursday's wreck, one caused by Kevin Harvick. Harvick bumped the race leader, Jimmie Johnson, midway through a corner, triggering the crash and outrage from his fellow drivers, including Martin.

Martin sent a message to Harvick during Saturday's practice session, ramming him from behind at one point. The collision was not severe enough to cause an accident.

Martin is the only one of the four who will not drive a backup car in today's Daytona 500. Rusty Wallace and Harvick turned the 24th and 32nd fastest laps respectively in their backup cars. The other driver, Joe Nemechek, missed Saturday's practice because of an illness, although he did drive in the Busch race. He finished 14th.

Pit stops

Race fans held a candlelight vigil in honor of Dale Earnhardt late Friday night, marking the fourth anniversary of his death.

Earnhardt died in a single-car crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, attended the vigil and thanked the fans. Many of participants sobbed and held three fingers in the air - a salute to Earnhardt, who drove the No. 3 car for most of his NASCAR career. ... Earnhardt Jr. posted the fastest practice lap for the second straight day Saturday, further lending to rival Jeff Gordon's theory that Earnhardt and teammate Michael Waltrip "sandbagged" in testing, practice and qualifying prior to Thursday's Duel qualifying races.

Earnhardt, who qualified 39th last Sunday, finished second to Waltrip in the Duel race. "The cars are running well," said Waltrip, who was the sixth-fastest driver in Saturday's practice. "And that's a great feeling after we got off to a slow start in Speedweeks."

Waltrip will start today's Daytona 500 on the inside of the second row, right in front of Earnhardt.